Death & Company Book II: Smile and Remember
by Ceiphied Knight
Summary: The Fearsome Five appear to be collecting all of Darkwing's friends, allies and loved ones for some nefarious purpose. With the Gizmosuit at their disposal and Darkwing at a disadvantage, can he really beat them again? Death & Company Book II. COMPLETE!
1. I'll Hold You Till the Hurt is Gone

**SMILE AND REMEMBER IT ALL**

_Death and Company Book II_

_

* * *

_

Fenton Crackshell opened his eyes to darkness.

The room he found himself in (if, indeed, it was a room) was so dark and quiet that it almost felt as if his senses had been cut off. As he got his wits about him, however, he began to notice small details. A cold draft, a pinpoint of light off in the distance. He clung to those things, because they were all he had at the moment.

As he studied the location of the draft and the possible source of the light, a slow but steady thumping also began to work its way into his consciousness.

Fenton attempted to move his arms and legs, only to discover what he had already suspected. He was shackled to something. So far, things weren't looking too promising. He had no memory of what had happened, and didn't even want to consider how the fiends had gotten his Gizmosuit off of him. Because, as far as he remembered, he had definitely been wearing it before waking up in the darkness.

"Blathering Blatherskite," the imprisoned duck hissed under his breath, in hopes that the villains had made a mistake and left the suit somewhere nearby. His split second of hope vanished just as quickly as it had come when there was no familiar electrical buzzing, and no sign of his suit anywhere.

Whoever had taken him knew what they were doing.

With a sigh, Fenton began trying to wriggle free of the devices that held him. It would likely take a long while, but it was the only choice he seemed to have.

Unless, of course, someone came for him.

* * *

"Dark, I heard the news and I want to help," Morgana McCawber stated as she suddenly appeared in the large mirror that sat atop the dresser that the crimefighter happened to be using at that very moment.

"Morgana!" Darkwing exclaimed, falling backwards and onto the plushly carpeted floor of the guest room he was using at McDuck Manor. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry," she said, not very convincingly. "It's just that the stars were out and...anyway, you don't care about my magic talk. Suffice it to say I know that Fenton is missing and I want to help locate him. After all, he's helped us so many times."

Dusting himself off and looking rather smug, Darking grinned and said, "I'm sure that's not the only reason you want to find him."

Blushing furiously, Morgana angrily replied, "That's none of your business!"

"What's not your business?" Came the voice of Corrine QuackIntyre as she briskly entered the room.

"Oh, hi Morgana!" She chirped happily once she noticed the beautiful witch in the mirror. "What's up, do you have feelers out for Fenton?"

Darkwing looked confusingly between the two women and finally asked, "Did I miss something?"

Shaking her head, Corrine sighed and lamented, "Men..."

Morgana rolled her eyes and said, "Tell me about it."

"Anyway," Corrine continued, addressing Darkwing, "I came to let you know your fingerprint testing is done. "

"Great, finally!" Darkwing said, placing a large gray fedora on his head and bounding out of the room. As an afterthought, he called over his shoulder, "I'll be in touch, Morgana! Just stay put, and don't do anything on your own!"

With a shrug in Morgana's direction, Corrine followed the masked hero.

Morgana's image blinked out of the mirror and was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.

* * *

The McCawbers were a proud, powerful line of witches and wizards. Morgana was no different, except in the fact that she'd decided long ago to concern herself with the affairs of Normals, or non-magic users.

Pacing her large home in St. Canard, the sorceress found herself wondering if it was worth it. If she allowed herself to keep getting involved with these mortal hero-types, she was going to wind up a widow.

Still, it didn't change the fact that she was beginning to care deeply for a mallard whose career involved wearing aluminum siding.

Morgana understood the draw of technology, even if her family would have found it gauche. That's why she could only assume that Fenton had been taken so that someone could get their hands on his Gizmosuit.

It was that thought that kept her going. Because it was a simple explanation, and a simple explanation was all she could deal with at the moment.

The alternative, the idea that someone could have kidnapped Fenton for any other reason, was too frightening to bear.

* * *

Darkwing knocked timidly on the door to Scrooge McDuck's "Worry Room" and waited.

If the hero was being honest with himself, he would have had to admit that the old duck made him a tad nervous. Aside from his intimidating amount of money, Scrooge himself seemed larger than life. After a moment, the door was answered by a middle-aged dog wearing a suit.

"Mr. McDuck will see you now," the gentlemanly dog stated with very little intonation. Darkwing stepped past him and into a room that was empty save for a circular track in the ground.

McDuck was walking the track, around and around again. He paused and looked up at the caped crimefighter.

"What have you found out?"

Darkwing straighted up and really took in the old duck. He looked tired. Worry was clearly written on his face, despite the fact he was probably trying to hide it. The hero was suddenly struck by a thought that, for some reason, had not occurred to him before.

McDuck must really care about Fenton.

It wasn't surprising, of course, but he simply hadn't stopped to consider that the relationship went any further than that of an employer and employee. But knowing that Fenton filled two roles for McDuck, that of accountant and personal bodyguard, it made sense that he must have spent most of his days with the old timer. Every day. For years.

Darkwing cleared his throat and said, "The fingerprint test I ran on the note simply proved what I already knew. The culprit, or at least the mastermind, is my arch nemesis, Negaduck. I can't figure out why he would go for Gizmoduck, though. If he was trying to get to me, there are much more direct ways. He could have kidnapped Launchpad, for instance. But, instead, he came all the way to Duckburg to kidnap someone who I have only had a strict working relationship with in the past. Giz and I have only become friends, and I use the term loosely, within the past six months or so. He must have some other angle, and I'm just not seeing it yet."

Scrooge considered the hero for a while before responding. "Does it really matter?" He finally asked. "I couldn't possibly care less _why_ he was taken. Just find him. That _is _what you do, isn't it? Save people?"

Then he turned and resumed his pacing. Darkwing realized he'd just been dismissed, so he made a hasty retreat.

As Darkwing returned to his room, he noted that one thing was for certain. Scrooge McDuck was a scary man.

* * *

Gosalyn felt like she hadn't been around other kids as rambunctious as her in _years_, and now that she was she couldn't even enjoy it!

Quiverwing Quack watched in envious silence as Scrooge's great-nephews and the feminine, yet surprisingly athletic, Webby played a game of basketball against each other.

Webby and Louie were playing against Huey and Dewey. Quiverwing sent silent thanks that the boys wore different colors, because the identical triplets threw her for a loop, otherwise.

The costumed teenager leaned up against a nearby tree and sighed. She would have given anything to be out there with them, but she had a job to do. Her dad wanted her to casually question the kids to find out if they knew anything about the night Gizmoduck disappeared. Any sound or shadow could be a possible clue. More importantly, though, she had to find out if the children who lived in McDuck Manor knew Gizmoduck's secret identity. If they didn't, the crew from St. Canard would have to watch what they said in front of everyone but Scrooge.

The question was soon answered, however, as Quiverwing overheard a conversation happening out on the basketball court.

"I'm starting to get worried about Fenton," Louie was saying. "Unca Scrooge says he's been really sick."

"Yeah, it's not really like him to miss so much work," Dewey chimed in.

"Maybe we should take him some soup!" Webby suggested.

The boys all seemed to like that idea, so they finished their game and spoke of getting Webby's grandmother, Mrs. Beakley, to make some chicken soup for their sick friend.

Quiverwing smiled to herself. Her dad would be mondo-impressed with her if she followed the kids to Fenton's house without them knowing. Then she could look for more clues on her own.

She was going to crack this case wide open.

* * *

"I'm going to crack this case wide open!" Darkwing Duck exclaimed as he and Launchpad arrived at the door of a run-down wooden shack in a questionable part of Duckburg.

Launchpad knocked, and the door was answered by a very tall, older goose.

"Launchpad!" Gyro Gearloose yelled his friend's name, happily, and embraced the pilot.

Darkwing cleared his throat and Launchpad stepped back to introduce him.

"Gyro, this is my good friend from St. Canard, Darkwing Duck."

Gyro shook Darkwing's hand and invited the duo inside.

"I assume you've come about the suit." Gyro stated, not mincing words.

"Yes," Darkwing said, "I need to know everything you can tell me about the Gizmosuit. Exactly how much trouble are we in if that thing falls into the wrong hands?"

"Oh, a lot of trouble," Gyro said, though Darkwing thought he didn't sound very concerned. "But the key is that no one knows the word that arms the suit except for me and the duck who wears it. If there is anyone beyond that, I don't know about it. I can only assume that Mr. McDuck _may _know, but I can't say that factually."

"Wait," Darkwing said, having noticed the way Gyro phrased part of his explanation. "Do you mean to say you have no idea who is wearing the suit that _you _created?"

"That's right," Gyro confirmed, nodding. "We thought it would be better that way. Full anonymity. Again, I assume Mr. McDuck knows, but I don't know who else does. Why, does that matter?"

"Well...no...I suppose not..." Darkwing fumbled, trying to find the right words. "I just find it interesting, I guess."

Darkwing and Launchpad thanked the inventor and excused themselves.

"I feel like I've heard Fenton say the arming code before, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is," Darkwing remarked to his sidekick as they boarded the Ratcatcher and made their way back to Scrooge's mansion.

"I guess that's good," Launchpad said. "As long as the bad guys don't know it, either, we should be okay."

"Yeah," Darkwing answered, quietly. Somehow, he wasn't feeling reassured.

* * *

Mrs. Crackshell was worried. It was hard to tell, of course, because she rarely wore her emotions on her sleeve, and it's not like she had anyone to _tell _she was worried. The fact of the matter was, she rarely left her cozy trailer home. But she often found herself zoning out during her favorite TV programs, wondering where her son had disappeared off to.

He was all the family she had left in the whole world, and now he was gone. It was a bit much for her to deal with, to be honest.

When her son had first shown her the Gizmosuit, she had acted nonchalant but was secretly very impressed and proud of him. He was putting himself out there, really living. Doing good for the entire town, and sometimes even around the world. It was more than she could have ever dreamed for him. Hell, it was certainly more than she'd ever dreamed for herself.

But it hadn't occurred to her that with his "other" life came certain dangers. Sure, she knew he'd gone up against Beagle Boys and even F.O.W.L. Agents. And then there was that one time in St. Canard with those guys, the Fearsome-something-or-other. But he'd always come home.

He'd always come back to her in one piece.

She was startled from her reverie by a knock on the door.

Opening the lightweight trailer door revealed four teenage ducklings, smiling up at her and holding out a container filled with some delicious-smelling liquid.

"Hi, Mrs. Crackshell!" Said Huey...or maybe it was Dewey. Damn, she never did learn which one was which.

"We've brought some soup for Fenton, can we see him?" Asked the girl, who Mrs. Crackshell definitely knew was named Webby.

"That's very sweet, children," the old woman said, taking the soup from them. "But Fenton is very contagious and I wouldn't want any of you to catch it. I'll take this to him and give him your best."

The children looked a bit crestfallen, but nodded and turned to go without arguing.

Mrs. Crackshell closed the door, then leaned up against it and began to cry.

* * *

Quiverwing was becoming frustrated.

She had let herself into Fenton's room via a tiny window, but had been unable to find anything noteworthy among his things.

She shouldn't have been too surprised, since according to McDuck the last place Gizmoduck had been was outside his money bin, leaving for the night.

Still...

The teenager knocked over a small tin trashcan in the corner and noticed a balled-up piece of paper that came tumbling out.

Curious, she picked it up and began unfolding the crinkled mess.

A sly grin lit her face as she read the letter that had never been sent.

* * *

She knew he had told her to stay put. But he was all the way in Duckburg, so when she had caught wind of a possible lead, she couldn't help but pursue it.

Morgana approached the warehouse slowly, though fully alert. Her hands were raised, ready to fire off an offensive spell if need be. Her familiars, the bats Eek and Squeak, were yelling at her.

She ignored them, which was not something she normally did, and continued into the dark building.

It happened almost as soon as she'd touched the threshold.

She slipped on something and lowered her hands to break her fall. In that moment, she landed on something soft, but found her arms and legs bound by something sharp and scratchy.

The lights flipped on, momentarily blinding her.

When her eyes adjusted, she saw that she had slipped on a puddle of water, was currently laying on a giant teddy bear, and was bound with vines.

She was certainly smart enough to realize what that meant.

A gruff voice, terrifying and familiar, seemed to come from no where.

"How kind of you to finally join us, Morgana," Negaduck said from his hiding place. "I just love it when a plan comes together."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. The Ghost That Will Not Die

**SMILE AND REMEMBER IT ALL**

_Chapter Two: The Ghost That Will Not Die_

* * *

"Pssssst!"

Darkwing Duck's eyes immediately snapped open, and he was on his feet in a karate stance within seconds.

"HAI-YA!" he yelled, looking around almost blankly.

Corrine crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Hey, pajama ninja, I have some information for you."

Darkwing lowered his arms and gawked at the female duck. "You should know better than to wake me like that when I'm on a case! I could have killed you!"

Corrine didn't look convinced, but said nothing.

Darkwing sat down on the edge of his bed in one of McDuck Manor's many guest rooms. Corrine was sleeping separately in order not to blow their cover.

The crimefighter took a quick glance at the digital alarm clock on the nightstand and gasped.

"Corrine, it's four in the morning!"

"I know, and lower your voice!" she hissed at him. "I had to get you alone."

Darkwing crawled closer to the girl, who was also perched on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. It was very unlike his girlfriend to skulk around in the wee hours of the morning.

"I just found something out that you might find interesting," she said, almost too nonchalantly.

"And that is?"

Corrine uncrossed her arms and placed her hands in her lap. Looking down at them, her whole demeanor changed very suddenly.

"Hey," Darkwing said, placing a finger under her bill and forcing her to look at him. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I'm pregnant," were the words that tumbled out of Corrine's mouth.

Darkwing blinked at her. "I see."

The hero seemed frozen, never removing his hand from Corrine's face.

They sat in silence for several minutes before Corrine grew concerned. Jerking away from her boyfriend's hand she demanded, "Please say something else!"

Hand still poised in the air, the masked vigilante finally took a very deep breath and asked, "Is it mine?"

His answer was a pillow to the face.

* * *

The next morning, Launchpad and Quiverwing noticed a new bit of oddness.

Corrine was sitting at the breakfast table very quietly, while Darkwing hovered and doted on her with pancakes and orange juice and compliments about the sheen of her feathers.

"Um...what's going on?" Quiverwing finally asked.

"Nothing!" snapped the couple, simultaneously.

"Well, fine, if you don't want to tell me then I guess I don't want to tell you what I found out at the Crackshell residence."

That got the attention of all the adults.

"Spill it," Darkwing ordered, finally sitting down.

The teenager grinned and laid out a crumpled piece of paper for everyone to see.

"I found this in his trashcan," she explained. "It's an unfinished letter to Morgana. It seems they've been getting very cozy and familiar, but then it goes on to mention that he's felt someone has been following him lately. The last paragraph turns very serious, talking about the dangers of his job...then he just stops writing."

Corrine picked up the letter and studied it.

"Hm," she said, "If I know Fenton, which I do, I'd say he had second thoughts about telling her his fears because he didn't want her involved if anything bad was about to go down."

Darkwing was staring at the letter with an indiscernible expression.

"What is it, DW?" Launchpad asked.

"Fenton and MORGANA?" the hero finally yelled, causing everyone at the table to jump.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Corrine asked with an edge to her voice.

"No, no, of course not," Darkwing said quickly, holding up his hands and smiling at her. "It's just...surprising. That's all."

The couple looked at each other for a long time before Quiverwing finally slapped a hand down on the table, causing them to jump.

"I want to know what's wrong with you two, right now! You're both acting weirder than usual, and that's saying something!"

"Later, Gos," Corrine promised, not realizing her slip-up.

Quiverwing didn't seem satiated by that answer, but Scrooge McDuck entered the room at that moment and effectively ended their private conversation.

"Any leads?" the old duck asked, immediately.

"Perhaps," said Darkwing. "I have to contact an old friend of mine back in St. Canard to see if she knows anything more. But, Mr. McDuck, did Gizmoduck mention anything to you about feeling that he was being watched or followed?"

Scrooge thought about it for a moment but then said, "Not that I recall. But the lad probably wouldn't mention something like that to me. He's always trying to put on a brave face, like he's in control of the situation at all times."

"Yeah," said Darkwing. "And maybe that's exactly how he got kidnapped."

"You listen here..." began McDuck, but he was cut off by Corrine walking over and putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Mr. McDuck, why don't we do something today while they work? I'll treat you to a movie; something that you would like but the boys would hate. What do you say?"

"Well...I suppose..." Scrooge could hardly turn down a free movie.

"Great, let's go check out showtimes!"

With that, Corrine led the older duck from the room.

Darkwing let out a breath. "I owe her one. Big time."

He turned back to his sidekick and his daughter and said, "I'm going to go contact Morgana via mirror, like she's shown me in the past. Hopefully she'll remember something. Launchpad, you and Quiverwing go to the money bin and check around for clues there."

They both nodded, and Quiverwing gulped down the last of her orange juice before propelling herself from the table and out the back door.

"Wait up!" Launchpad yelled, running after her.

Darkwing rolled his eyes and made his way upstairs to contact Morgana.

* * *

"That's strange," Darkwing muttered to himself. His reflection stared back at him, looking as normal as ever.

The crimefighter was momentarily perplexed when he couldn't reach Morgana via mirror spell. Then, once he realized the spell was working but Morgana was no where to be found, he became worried.

Finally, he decided to do the unthinkable. He called her dad.

Maloculo McCawber was not pleased to see Darkwing.

"What do you want, Normal?" the old sorcerer snapped. "I don't have time for you today."

Darkwing rolled his eyes and answered, "Nice to see you too, Mal. I'm only calling to see if you know where Morgana is."

Maloculo frowned and said, "No, I haven't spoken to her since yesterday. She's been rather busy, I suppose. Not with you, though, from what I understand." The last was said with a smirk.

Darkwing probably should have just let it go, but the comment got under his skin. Before he could think better of it, he snapped, "No, but I'm sure she's been busy with her new 'normal' boyfriend."

Maloculo frowned again, eyes narrowing at Darkwing.

They glared at each other for a few minutes, then Maloculo gave in and explained, "I knew something was going on, but I thought she'd tell me when she was ready. She's seemed worried about something lately. We were speaking yesterday and she seemed hurried...she told me she had to go when I was mid-word about her Aunt Nasty's latest potion research, and I haven't heard from her since."

Darkwing's brow furrowed. "I told her to stay put," he mumbled to himself.

"What?" snapped Maloculo.

"Nothing," Darkwing replied, then quickly changed the subject. "Listen, do you have any spells that could pinpoint her location? Like, find her magical signature or something?"

"Perhaps," answered the sorcerer, slowly. "Do you think my daughter is in some kind of danger?"

"I don't know, pops," was all Darkwing could say.

* * *

"Keep them apart, I don't want them devising some asinine escape plan!" Negaduck barked at Bushroot, who was lugging a very unconscious Morgana to a holding cell.

"You got it, Negaduck!" Bushroot exclaimed, dragging Morgana's limp body to the cell across from where they were keeping their other captive. Bushroot wasn't exactly sure who the male duck was in relation to everything, but Negaduck had taken something from him that was being kept under wraps.

Tossing the sorceress in, the mutant plant duck slammed the heavy wooden door closed and walked away without a backward glance.

When Morgana regained consciousness, it was pitch black.

"Hello?" she called out, softly. She wasn't surprised when there was no answer.

She began crawling around on her hands and knees, very slowly, reaching out into the darkness for something, anything, that might help her escape.

There was a metallic _clang _as her knuckles made contact with something very sturdy and obviously metal.

"What in the world?" she whispered to herself, feeling around the object.

There were several pieces...something that felt like a radial tire...and...

She sat back on her haunches and lifted the smallest of the metal items. It was obviously a helmet, heavy, with what felt like glass goggles in the front.

That's when Morgana realized she'd found Fenton, after all.

* * *

"I don't know about this, sweetie," Drake said, pulling at his collar uncomfortably.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine!" Corrine grinned at him as she reached up to ring the doorbell of her parents' home.

When Corrine had arrived back from her movie outing with Scrooge McDuck, she had cornered Darkwing and expressed that he should go with her to see her parents while they were in town.

After much arguing and whining, Corrine had finally won. Drake grumbled the entire way about wasting precious case-solving time. Corrine informed him that he wouldn't have figured anything out, anyway.

Soft footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door, and then it was opened by a plump, older female duck.

"Surprise!" Corrine yelled, throwing open her arms and embracing her shocked mother.

Jean QuackIntyre squeezed her daughter tightly and exclaimed, "Corrine, what in the world? I didn't know you were in town!"

Corrine stepped away from her mother and smiled, "That's why it's a surprise!"

The sound of someone clearing his throat brought Corrine's attention back to the matter at hand.

"Oh, right! Mom, this is my boyfriend from St. Canard, Drake Mallard. Drake, this is my mom, Jean."

The two shook hands and Drake smiled pleasantly at the older duck. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. QuackIntyre."

"Please, dear, call me Jean," the woman said with a warm smile. "And it's awfully nice to finally meet you! Corrine has told us so much about you. In fact, come and sit down and I'll call Ray in from the garage!"

Corrine took Drake's hand and led him to the sofa. Jean could be heard calling for her husband out in the backyard.

Somewhere outside, a door slammed and heavy footsteps walked toward the house.

Drake stiffened in his seat a bit. Corrine had warned him that after losing his son, Ray QuackIntyre had become increasingly protective of his only daughter.

Soon enough, the older duck was standing in the living room, staring at Drake in a way that nearly frayed his impeccable nerves.

Ray said nothing as he took a seat in a recliner directly across from them and steepled his fingers.

"Daddy," Corrine began, looking completely at ease, "this is Drake!"

Ray say up straighter and said, "Whatever happened to that nice fella' who worked for Scrooge McDuck?"

Corrine sighed. "Daddy, please, that was like five years ago. We're just friends now."

Ray didn't look convinced. "That kid had a future. Good job with the richest duck in the world, and he lives here and not in that godforsaken city."

Corrine turned to Drake and explained, "My father has a problem with St. Canard. He thinks it's too dangerous and he was a bit disappointed when I found a permanent home there...with you." The last was said with smiling eyes that crinkled in the corners, a look that Drake had come to understand was for him, alone.

As he opened his beak to reply, he was interrupted by Ray QuackIntyre making a disgusted sound in the back of his throat.

"We'll see just how permanent it is," Ray said, glaring at Drake with undisguised hatred.

Drake was speechless, and Corrine hung her head in defeat.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking up through a curtain of short hair, "I didn't think he would be like this when he met you in person."

Drake cleared his throat and addressed Corrine's father.

"Sir, I assure you that I love your daughter and I...I plan to be permanent. I will also keep her safe, always."

Ray snorted. "And how do you intend to do that? She told me all about you. That you're some sort of freelance investigator...so I bet you're not even home that much. What would you do if some case you're investigating got pissed off and came to your home? What would you do if you weren't there, and they got Corrine, instead?"

"Daddy, please!" Corrine practically screamed. "I told you that Drake has a teenage daughter, too, and nothing like that has _ever _happened!"

Drake sat silently, and Corrine was afraid he was stewing about what her father had said.

But then the crimefighter lifted his head and said, quietly, "You're right, sir. I do have a dangerous job, and perhaps it's selfish of me to subject my family to that. But I think I deserve a little bit of happiness, too. My work makes me happy, but so does your daughter. I've given her everything I possibly can, but if that's not enough, I don't know what else I can say."

Ray puckered his beak but said nothing. Finally, he relented.

"As long as you love my daughter, and take care of her...that's all I can ask. But at the first sign that she's unhappy, I'm going to come to St. Canard and kick your ass. Capicé?"

Drake gulped. "Yes, sir."

"Good!" Ray exclaimed, clapping his hands together and rising from his seat. "Now, both of you go get cleaned up for dinner."

As he left the room, Drake's bill dropped open in shock.

"...What just happened?" he finally asked, looking at Corrine with a mixture of fear and confusion.

"I think you passed," Corrine explained, then gave Drake a quick kiss on the forehead and flounced from the room.

* * *

"We found some prints at the money bin, but they were old and almost unrecognizable," Launchpad explained around the dinner table back at McDuck's later in the evening. "You can tell that Gizmoduck makes the same laps around the bin constantly, because of the tire marks and the way the ground is worn. It's the same path, over and over..."

Quiverwing interrupted, waving her arms animatedly. "But there were these other markings WITHIN the tire tracks! They weren't footprints, though. Or, if they were, they didn't come from any sort of foot I recognized."

"What did they look like?" asked Darkwing, eyeing his daughter with interest.

"Well," she went on, "they were elongated. Three marks, with two of them almost in a 'v' shape. Whoever left them must be really light, too. Also, they dragged, like whoever it was might have been limping or just walking kind of funny."

Darkwing thought on that description momentarily and then announced, "Well, I guess that proves my worst fear."

"Which is?" Scrooge McDuck demanded.

"It would appear that the Fearsome Five are back together again. Because those sound like Bushroot's prints right down to the funny walk. And there's no way Bushroot would act alone to do something of this scale. No, coming to Duckburg and kidnapping Gizmoduck was part of someone else's plan. Obviously Negaduck's, since he left that note. I have no doubt that Megavolt, Liquidator and Quackerjack are also involved."

Darkwing stepped away form the table and began pacing, talking more to himself than to anyone else in the room.

"But what I don't understand is why Negaduck would send Bushroot of all people to be his muscle. Sending Megavolt after Gizmoduck seems like it would make a lot more sense. Unless, of course, he has Megavolt working on something else. But why bring me all the way to Duckburg? Why not just wait until the scheme is launched..."

With that, Darkwing's head snapped up.

"He wanted me out of town. He doesn't know that Morgana and I aren't together anymore, so if I went out of town then that means I wouldn't be around to protect her."

Quiverwing, Launchpad, Corrine and Scrooge were all watching Darkwing work the plot out in his head, with their beaks hanging open.

"Launchpad," Darkwing continued, "go get the Thunderquack ready. Our problems are back in St. Canard."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. Somewhere in the Stratosphere

**SOMEWHERE IN THE STRATOSPHERE**

_Hi everyone! This story is officially finished and sitting on my hard drive, ready to post! I've been writing like a fiend for weeks, so after I post this chapter there will only be two more to go. I'll be posting them over the next week or so._

_I was actually tempted to cut this chapter into two parts, but then decided against it. Anyway, I hope it's entertaining! Please leave me a review or shoot me a message if you feel like it!_

* * *

Negaduck cackled madly, as he was apt to do.

"Say, Negaduck," Bushroot asked, cautiously, "What good does it do to have the Gizmoduck suit if we don't know the code that operates it?"

Negaduck stopped cackling and considered the mutant plant duck for a moment.

"If you weren't such an imbecile," he said, "you would understand that I'm going to capture all of Darkwing's former allies and loved ones and force him to tell me."

"But, boss," interjected Liquidator, "surveys suggest that Darkwing Duck might not know the code..."

"It doesn't matter," Negaduck growled. "I'll get it from Gizmoduck himself, then. These goody-goody heroes are all the same. Once he sees his old companions captured, he'll tell me everything he knows."

Bushroot frowned a bit, but said nothing else. Negaduck had asked (well, more like ordered) him to be the one to overpower and capture Gizmoduck. But ever since that capture, the rest of the Fearsome Five had seen no sign of the suit. Negaduck was keeping some fellow hostage in one of the cells of their hideout, and Bushroot was the only member of their team sane enough to figure out that he _must _be the guy who usually wears the suit. But Negaduck was remaining mum on the whole thing, and Bushroot's subtle questions didn't seem to be doing the trick. Hell, even the not-so-subtle questions weren't helping.

Deciding to let the matter go, at least for now, Bushroot went to check on their prisoners.

"Boss!" Quackerjack called, skipping over. "Darkwing's plane just got back!"

"Excellent," Negaduck said with an evil grin. "Just as planned. He's too late to save the sorceress, and he probably _thinks _he's on to us."

Negaduck turned and addressed Megavolt, who had promptly forgotten what he was even doing there in the first place.

"Megavolt! I need you to capture the pilot. Once we have him, we'll really have Darkwing's back against the wall."

Megavolt threw a very serious salute at Negaduck and hastily left the hideout.

"Right now," growled Negaduck mostly to himself, "I have some interrogating to do."

* * *

Corrine pulled Darkwing's large fedora off his head and gave him a quick kiss, pushing him toward the rotating chairs that would lead him back to their home on Avian Way.

"Go get some sleep!" she ordered, feigning authority.

"Yes, ma'am," Darkwing said with a sigh. He'd been moping all the way back from Duckburg, mad at himself for leaving Morgana unprotected when he had had a gut feeling she'd go traipsing off on her own. He let out another long-suffering sigh while flopping into one of the blue chairs and disappearing from sight.

Gosalyn stretched and began putting her equipment away. She had already taken off her Quiverwing costume during the flight back from Duckburg.

"Looks like you could use some sleep, too," Corrine remarked, noticing the dark circles under the teenagers' eyes.

Gosalyn turned to rebuke that statement, but was betrayed by a yawn.

Laughing, she finally answered, "Fine, you got me. I'm beat. I'll be following dad in just a minute."

After hanging up her quiver and placing her specialty arrows back into their respective containers, the girl turned to Corrine and asked the main question that had been on her mind all day.

"Hey, Corrine. What's with you and dad? You guys are acting pretty weird. You're not going to...break up, are you?"

The red-head looked down as she finally verbalized her main concern. It was an embarrassing statement, in her opinion. It felt a little too honest, a little too real. But the truth was, Gosalyn had simply accepted Corrine as a permanent person in her life, as she had previously accepted Morgana. Sure, Corrine didn't have a cool monster family, and she couldn't do magic, but she also wasn't as volatile. Gosalyn had come to count on Corrine to be the voice of reason and point out when her dad was being irrational, and Corrine made time to spend with her and go to her hockey and baseball games when her dad and Launchpad were working...

If she was really being honest with herself, Gosalyn had fallen in love with the idea of having a mother figure. She hadn't felt as secure with any adult since her dad had sung a lullaby to a lonely little orphan, and somehow decided that she was worth spending a lifetime with.

Gosalyn finally looked up from her reverie as Corrine started giggling.

The older duck walked over and wrapped her arms around the teenager.

"Gosalyn, honey, we're not breaking up! Far from it!"

Gosalyn let out a small sigh of relief.

"Oh, good," she said, pushing Corrine away a bit. She had a cool exterior to uphold, after all!

Corrine recognized the teenagers' discomfort and stepped away. "Now, get your butt home and get some sleep!"

Smiling, Gosalyn ran off to the chairs and spun home.

Corrine felt a large, heavy hand on her shoulder and looked up at Launchpad, who was smiling down at her.

He was silent for so long that Corrine finally asked, "What?"

"It's just nice to see Gos so happy. It hasn't always been easy for D.W., raising a kid like her."

Corrine felt her face heating up and shrugged out from under Launchpad's hand.

"Yeah, well, I don't have much to do with her happiness, I'm sure. You guys have been with her way longer than I have. She's had some great role models."

Launchpad grinned at that and then said, "Come on, I'm not tired, wanna help me make some adjustments to the ol' Thunderquack? I have some specs drawn up for a new weapons system, but we'll have to pull the old one out first..."

Beaming, Corrine followed Launchpad to the plane as he rambled on.

* * *

The sun had set in St. Canard, and the lights inside Darkwing Tower were beginning to make the two pilots see spots.

They'd been working on the plane for hours. Corrine had helped Launchpad rip out a bunch of old systems, and they'd only begun installing the new ones when Launchpad let out a huge yawn.

"Calling it quits?" Corrine surmised, wiping her greasy hands on an old rag.

"Yeah, just about..." Launchpad began, but was interrupted as some not-so-silent alarms began screeching inside the tower as red lights flashed in warning.

Corrine covered her ears and yelled, "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

Launchpad did the same and screamed over the din, "D.W. INSTALLED SOME NEW SECURITY SYSTEMS AFTER QUACKERJACK GOT IN HERE LAST TIME!"

Looking around, neither Launchpad nor Corrine could see the cause of the alarms.

Then, just as suddenly as they had begun, they quieted.

"The hell?" Corrine mumbled in the eerie quiet.

There was a rustling behind them, and they were quite shocked to see Megavolt standing there, as if that was a totally normal occurrence.

"Hi!" he said, throwing up one hand in a wave. "So, uh, I've come to kidnap a pilot. Which one of you is a pilot?"

Launchpad and Corrine exchanged confused glances and then Launchpad shrugged.

"We're both pilots," he said.

"Oh," Megavolt put a hand thoughtfully under his chin, "I see. Well, in that case, I should probably just kidnap you both."

With that, he raised a very dangerous-looking weapon and waved it threateningly at them.

"Hold on," Corrine chimed in, "Why are you kidnapping us, again?"

"OH! OH! I'VE GOT THIS ONE!" Megavolt yelled, jumping up and down. "I'm kidnapping you because Negaduck told me to!"

"And how did you get up here?" Launchpad asked, playing along. He'd learned, just as Corrine had, that Megavolt was better dealt with when he was distracted. Or when he completely forgot what he was doing.

"I took the stairs, obviously," Megavolt answered, looking at the pilots as if they had lobsters growing out of their ears.

"Ah," Launchpad and Corrine said, simultaneously.

Finally, their stalling paid off.

"I AM THE TERROR THAT FLAPS IN THE NIGHT! I AM THE UNINVITED GUEST WHO NEVER LEAVES! I AM DARKWING DUCK!"

As the hero's voice echoed throughout the tower, Megavolt looked legitimately concerned.

"And I am the Quiverwing Quack!" came another voice, younger and much more feminine.

Corrine's head whipped up to see Gosalyn haphazardly pulling some arrows from their containers, aiming a plunger arrow at the villain.

As Quiverwing pulled back her bow, Darkwing appeared from the rafters and kicked Megavolt from behind. Unfortunately, at that moment, Quiverwing released the plunger arrow and hit Darkwing squarely in the beak, knocking him backwards and off his feet.

"Bummer," Gosalyn groaned.

"Nice shot, shrimp!" Yelled Megavolt, getting to his feet. He hadn't even dropped his weapon, which he once again pointed in the direction of the pilots, who seemed rooted to the spot. The weapon shot an electrical charge straight at Corrine's head.

She barely had time to process what was happening (or make plans to duck) when she was unceremoniously shoved out of the way by Launchpad, who took the brunt of the shot to his chest.

Corrine's break dropped open in shock as her friend fell to the ground at her feet. The smell of burned leather and charred feathers nearly made her gag.

Coming to her senses, the smaller duck screamed, "LAUNCHPAD!" and fell to her knees next to his prone form.

Quiverwing let out a guttural scream as she ran over, also dropping down beside the injured pilot.

Darkwing took in the scene of Megavolt's smoking weapon and his injured best friend, whose head was now being cradled in Corrine's lap. Launchpad's eyes were shut tight, and he wasn't moving.

The vigilante's eyes narrowed dangerously and he practically growled at Megavolt, "Oh, you're going to pay for that, Sparky."

A shiver ran down Megavolt's spine at how much Darkwing sounded like Negaduck in that moment. It wasn't a pleasant comparison.

As Darkwing began inching forward, Megavolt found he was frozen in place. That is, until being tackled by a spirited red-head.

"You bastard!" Gosalyn screamed, launching herself into the villain.

"Gos, no!" Darkwing yelled, but it was too late. On impact, Gosalyn received an impressive shock from Megavolt's battery and was frozen long enough for him to get his arms around her. Placing his specialized weapon right up against her forehead, the rat cackled.

"One more move, and Darkwing Junior is toast!"

Darkwing froze. He barely breathed.

"I didn't get what I came for," Megavolt continued as he inched his way toward one of the well-hidden exits, "but I did get a nice consolation prize."

Darkwing and Corrine stared as Megavolt slunk into a shadowy corner of the tower with Gosalyn, and they both disappeared.

* * *

"He's lucky to be alive," the very stern-looking ER surgeon told Drake. "What did you say happened to him, again?"

Drake was so tired. He was tired of watching the people he cared about get kidnapped and injured. He was tired of the lies and excuses.

Corrine noted the look of pure exhaustion on Drake's face and answered the doctor.

"He was re-wiring something up in the attic. We're not sure what. But we heard a scream and then all the lights in the house went out."

The doctor looked as if he didn't necessarily believe her, but he decided not to press his luck.

"Well, it must have been some high-voltage wire that got him in the chest. His heart had to have stopped for several seconds. He's being admitted now, and we'll have to keep him for observation for a few days."

Corrine nodded, then solemnly led her nearly comatose boyfriend out of the hospital.

Pushing Drake into the passenger's side of his station wagon, she slipped in behind the wheel.

They sat there, in the unnaturally lit parking lot, for several minutes.

Finally, Corrine whispered, "We'll find her. We'll get her back."

Drake said nothing, he just stared straight ahead.

Corrine took a deep breath and decided to voice a different concern.

"I was helping Launchpad install some new weapons in the Thunderquack, but we didn't get to finish. I'm not sure if I know how to do it by myself, but I swear I'll try. I won't have you out there, defenseless."

She grabbed his closest hand in her own and he finally looked up.

"I won't lose you, too," Corrine finished, the words barely a whisper.

Drake finally forced a smile and answered in a strained voice, "Let's go home."

* * *

"Darkwing Duck is going to chew you up and spit you out, you deficient double!" Gosalyn screamed at Negaduck while kicking her legs, uselessly.

Negaduck preferred his own version of Gosalyn, in the Negaverse, but had hadn't been able to get back there for a while. This version was too rambunctious.

Ignoring the strong desire to plug his ears against her unyielding insults, Negaduck walked slightly closer to the restricted girl and said, "I certainly hope your fanatical father follows my fiendish flunkies. There's nothing in the world that I want more than him here, at my mercy. With the three of you locked up here, he won't dare try and stop me!"

Gosalyn knew that Negaduck had just confirmed what she already knew. That he did, indeed, have Fenton Crackshell and Morgana McCawber locked up somewhere in the dark warehouse. Gosalyn knew that, with time, she'd be able to get loose. But the hideout was palatial, and it would take some time for her to find and free the other two captives.

"Get her out of my sight!" Negaduck barked at Liquidator, who was all too happy to oblige.

As the water dog took the struggling girl to her own cell, Negaduck turned to study the new fixture in the room with him.

He had gone to Morgana's cell to bring her and the suit to the attention of Fenton Crackshell. Any fight Morgana may have had left in her was squashed by Bushroot, who kept vines wrapped tightly around the witch.

Upon seeing them, a very malnourished accountant seemed to get a second wind.

"Let her go, you cad!" he had screamed at Negaduck and Bushroot, but Negaduck had just grinned and said, "Not likely."

He had approached Fenton, eyes smoldering with contempt, and made one very simple request. The code words that operated the Gizmoduck suit, in exchange for Morgana's life.

The accountant had no choice. He had given in to Negaduck, despite Morgana's protests.

Negaduck grinned at the witch, who he had tied up nearby so that she could observe his victory. She was a pain in the ass, and deserved to be taken down a notch. Negaduck was once again glad he'd killed Nega-Morgana years ago.

"MEGAVOLT!" Negaduck yelled for the electrical dynamo.

"What's up, boss?" The rat asked as he entered the room , looking a bit absent.

"I was able to get the code to the suit, just like I said I would. Now I'll just need you to say them, and then keep that thing juiced up while it's on you."

Megavolt nodded. "Sure, boss. What's the code?"

Negaduck walked over and whispered into Megavolt's ear. Looking confused, the rat responded out loud, "what the hell is a Blatherskite?"

As soon as the word was spoken, the Gizmosuit began to make electrical sounds, charging up and spinning around the room.

The Fearsome Five watched in fascination as the suit began to adhere itself to Megavolt, causing the electric rat to make a strangled sound in the back of his throat.

The villains were silent for several minutes after the transformation was complete, and Megavolt wobbled uncomfortably on the suit's single wheel.

Finally, Negaduck grinned, wickedly. "Excellent! Megavolt, get over to the control panel! It's time to show the dopes of St. Canard that the Fearsome Five don't give up easily!"

Megavolt made his way over to a single control panel, and Negaduck attached some heavy cable from the panel to the suit.

For a moment, Fenton considered yelling the code words that would take the suit back. But one against five, even with the suit, didn't seem like very good odds.

He decided that victory would only be assured if he had a helping hand. If only Morgana or Gosalyn weren't locked up...

* * *

"Gosalyn, sweetie, is that you?" Morgan whispered through a small crack in the wall of her cell.

The teenager had not been complacent since being locked up in a small, dark room.

"Morgana!" She heard the girl yell, then lower her voice and whisper loudly, "Dad was afraid they had you. Guess he was right, for once. We need to get out of here and go get him!"

Morgana frowned a bit and whispered back, "I would have escaped ages ago, but I don't want to leave Fenton behind. I don't know what Negaduck has planned, but it's going to be very bad."

As if on cue, the building began to shake all around them. Stones rained down from the walls, as if the entire foundation of the warehouse was giving way.

"What the...?" Morgan began, but was interrupted as Gosalyn screamed over the din.

"GET OUT, MORGANA! GET AWAY AND FIND DARKWING!"

"But Fenton..." Morgana began, stubbornly.

"I'LL BE HERE WITH HIM," Gosalyn continued yelling as the warehouse continued to rumble. Her voice was taking on a desperate edge. "GET OUT AND BRING DAD!"

Finally, Morgana nodded to herself. Gosalyn was just as handy as Quiverwing Quack as her father was as Darkwing Duck, so she shouldn't worry. She was their only hope.

Muttering a few words, Morgana teleported from the site in a puff of dark smoke.

* * *

No one was expecting a witch to pop into existence inside Darkwing Tower, but they also weren't too terribly surprised.

After regaining cohesion, Morgana looked around briefly and then ran to the vigilante.

"Dark! You have to come to the Fearsome Five's hideout! They're using Fenton's suit for something big, and Gosalyn is there, too!"

Darkwing managed to keep his composure at Morgana's appearance, and nodded slowly.

"Take me there," he said as he headed for the Ratcatcher.

As he fastened his helmet into place, Morgana jumped up behind him on the bike.

Corrine ran hurriedly into the room and called out, "What about me?"

"You stay put!" Darkwing barked at her. "I'll be back soon with Gosalyn and Fenton!"

Then he and Morgana sped off down the bridge's thick support cables.

* * *

Fenton could only watch in horror and wonder if he was doing the right thing by waiting.

The entire warehouse quacked and crumbled, sounding as if it was tearing away from its foundation.

The room they were in was surrounded by a huge window, which wrapped halfway around. From that window, Fenton thought he saw trees and other large objects getting farther away...

Negaduck's shit-eating grin was triumphant and cocky.

"Bushroot, go bring me the brat! I want her nearby now that we're in the air just in case Darkwing Duck gets any ideas about crashing our party."

The mutant plant duck nodded and rushed off to get Gosalyn.

Fenton's eyebrows knitted together in worry.

"In the air...?" he repeated to himself.

* * *

Darkwing and Morgana pulled up just in time to witness why Negaduck needed the Gizmosuit so badly.

As the ground beneath their feet shook uncontrollably, they watched as a giant airship began to take form where an empty warehouse used to be.

Morgana gasped.

Darkwing growled as he said, "That's what Negaduck was up to. He needed me in Duckburg to buy himself the time to finish that thing, and I'll bet he needed the Gizmosuit to power it."

And if Negaduck had an airship, Darkwing thought, he probably had enough weapons to destroy a dozen armies.

As Morgana continued to watch the airship rise, Darkwing noticed the Thunderquack set down nearby.

Corrine jumped out of the plane and ran over, earning a glare from the crimefighter.

"I thought I told you to stay put!" He yelled over the sound of falling rocks and screeching metal.

"Like hell!" Corrine yelled back. "Negaduck is gonna be in the air, so you'll probably need to be, too!"

Neither she nor Darkwing had to remind the other that the Thunderquack was currently missing all its weapons systems, and its normal pilot.

As they watched the ship start to take off, there was only one thought on all their minds.

How were they going to stop it?


	4. My Beloved Was Weighed Down

**MY BELOVED WAS WEIGHED DOWN**

"_And is it worth the wait  
All this killing time?  
Are you strong enough to stand  
Protecting both your heart and mine?"_

Heavy In Your Arms, _Florence + The Machine_

* * *

The entire island shook like an earthquake had hit.

Most of the buildings in St. Canard had not been built to withstand such force, and anyone in the vicinity could see bits of debris and glass fall from high above them.

To say that Negaduck's air ship was enormous would be an understatement. As it rose from underneath the warehouse, taking the building with it, its shadow took up several city blocks.

Darkwing's jaw was set as he watched the ship rise. Gosalyn was in there, and he planned to get her out, come hell or high water. Fenton, too.

The masked vigilante felt a hand light softly on his shoulder. Looking over, he saw Corrine also watching the air ship rise.

"I guess you're going up there," she said, making it a statement and not a question.

Darkwing's smile was sad as he replied, "What choice do I have?"

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Morgana asked, walking over to stand next to them. "Your pilot is out of commission, and your only friend with a built in propeller is captive."

"He has another pilot," Corrine said with determination, removing her hand from Darkwing's shoulder and straightening up.

Darkwing spun around to stare at her, his beak ajar.

"No!" he exclaimed. "Absolutely not! I already have to save my daughter and my friend, I refuse to have you up there, as well!"

"Don't be stubborn!" Corrine snapped. "How else do you plan to get up there? You know damn well you can't fly, and I'm nearly as familiar with the Thunderquack as Launchpad is!"

Darkwing was shaking his head, almost violently. "No, no way, no how! There must be some other way!"

Corrine crossed her arms and said, "if there is, I'd like to hear it."

Morgana was loathe to interrupt their arguing, but she piped in, "We're running out of time, Dark, I think you should just let Corrine take you."

Seeing that neither of the women would budge, Darkwing seemed to deflate and mumbled, "Fine...let's go."

* * *

"You'll never get away with this, you malicious miscreant!" Fenton shouted at Negaduck, but the words lacked the conviction they would have had if he had been inside the Gizmosuit.

Fenton held no doubts about the fate of his robotic suit. As he watched it power the air ship, wrapped around a humanoid battery, he knew the suit would have to go if they had any chance in hell of destroying the ship.

Negaduck grinned at the prone mallard and shook his head. "What, you think our hometown hero is going to stop me? He won't lift a finger against me as long as I have his precious brat on this ship!"

From the corner, where Liquidator had finally gagged her, Quiverwing narrowed her eyes at her father's arch nemesis and mumbled angrily. Fenton was certain that she had just spouted the kind of profanities that would have gotten her grounded for life.

"Hey, boss," Quackerjack somersaulted over, grinning madly. "Darkwing Duck is here! His ship is hovering above us and I think he cut a hole in the hull and came inside!"

"WHAT?" Negaduck screamed, grabbing Quackerjack by his jester's hat. "If you knew this was happening, why didn't you stop him?"

Quackerjack never stopped smiling as he said, "Because that wouldn't have been any fun at all!"

Negaduck pushed the mad duck, roughly, and stalked over to his control panel.

"Too late, Negsy!" Came a voice that echoed throughout the entire bridge. "I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the schmendrick that schleps in the tucchus of crime! I am DARKWING DUCK!"

When Darkwing's signature blue smoke appeared, Quackerjack immediately let loose with some chattering teeth that could gnaw through anything. However, while he was busy doing that, Darkwing was busy freeing his daughter.

By the time Quackerjack realized that the hero had used the smoke as a diversion, it was too late.

Unbound and ungagged, Quiverwing was riled up and ready to fight.

Darkwing placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and said, "No Quiv, free Fenton and get to the Thunderquack. Corrine is holding it steady right over this heap."

Quiverwing opened her beak to protest, but then thought better of it. Instead, she nodded and ran over to untie the accountant.

Negaduck snarled and barked, "What are you knobs waiting for? GET. HIM. NOW!"

On cue, Darkwing leapt out of the way as Bushroot stalked forward and Quackerjack somersaulted in his direction. In the confusion, the clown stumbled into the mutant plant duck and left him flat on his rear.

Bushroot whirled on Quackerjack and began yelling at him, giving Darkwing plenty of time to face off with Negaduck.

"Too scared to face me yourself, Negaduck?" Darkwing asked with a cocky grin at his adversary.

Negaduck growled and swore before spitting out, "Never!" He began stalking forward, approaching Darkwing with the kind of menacing look that the crimefighter had still not gotten used to.

Out of the corner of his eye, Darkwing noted that Quiverwing and Fenton had gotten to safety. There was no way he could take on the entire Fearsome Five alone, even if Megavolt was occupied with the Gizmosuit, so it was time to make a break for it...

The masked mallard quickly loaded a new gas cannister into his weapon and prepared to fire at his feet in order to make his getaway, but was unexpectedly knocked off his feet by a rushing wave of water.

Looking up and sputtering, Darkwing saw Liquidator take his humanoid form and loom over him.

"Feeling beat? Washed up? With one easy step you can surrender to THE LIQUIDATOR!" quipped the water dog.

"Not likely," Darkwing grumbled under his breath before spinning on his stomach and kicking at the Liquidator's feet.

Of course, in that moment, he forgot that his opponent was composed entirely of water.

As Liquidator crossed his arms haughtily, completely unharmed, Negaduck began closing in.

Darkwing was momentarily at a loss. That is, until a giant grappling hook at the end of a thick piece of rope came crashing through the ceiling.

"Hey!" Darkwing heard Corrine's voice over the Thunderquack's loudspeaker. "Need a lift?"

The vigilante smiled to himself as he grasped onto the hook and immediately rose into the air. Clearing the ship's hull, he made it safely back onto the Thunderquack with his friends and family.

The last thing he saw was Negaduck's fuming face.

* * *

Back on the ground, no one could quite agree on a plan of action.

"We don't have any weapons strong enough to stop that thing!" Fenton screamed, grabbing Darkwing by the lapels of his jacket. "If I had my Gizmosuit I could..."

"Well you don't!" snapped Darkwing, forcibly removing the other duck's hands from his jacket. "So we'll have to think of something else!"

As Corrine watched them argue, she slowly moved toward the Thunderquack. Quiverwing had joined in the argument, and the three heroes were soon yelling over each other, drowning out everything else.

Corrine stopped and considered the plane for a long time. Her hand subconsciously fluttered over her abdomen.

"Where do you think you're going?" came a soft female voice from behind her.

Spinning around, Corrine yelped, "Morgana! I didn't notice you there. I figured you'd be discussing options with the hero-types."

Morgana gave the other woman a small smile and said, "I'm no hero."

"Sure you are!" Corrine insisted. "You've helped to protect this city before, and you've saved my life. I've certainly never forgotten it. Actually...did I ever thank you for that?"

Morgana held up a hand, "Yes, you did. For several minutes, actually. But none of that matters now. I don't need thanks for doing what's right. But back to the point...I saw you looking very thoughtfully at the Thunderquack, so I came over to stop you."

"S-stop me...? Corrine stammered.

Morgana frowned. "It doesn't take a clairvoyant to tell what you're thinking. You can't do it. It's suicide, and it would destroy Dark. And Gosalyn. She loves you too, you know."

Corrine hung her head in shame. "I know...I love her, too. So much. But sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the things we love."

Morgana shook her head. "You'd even sacrifice your baby?"

Corrine frowned a bit at that. "I'm not even going to ask how you know about that. But, anyway, that's not fair. Everyone I love is here _right now._ The baby is still so abstract."

But Morgana refused to budge. "No, you can't do this. I'll stop you. I'll go right over there and tell them what you're thinking."

"Hey, Morgana?" Corrine suddenly looked up at the taller duck.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

Before Morgana could react, Corrine spun. The sorceress was caught completely off guard as the side of Corrine's hand connected with the junction of her shoulder and neck.

The taller woman dropped like a brick, and Corrine sent silent thanks to Drake for teaching her some basic self-defense.

Once the mystical duck was out of commission, Corrine sadly climbed into the cockpit of the Thunderquack and lowered the canopy.

She didn't even notice as Archie hopped away from Morgana's prone body toward Darkwing...

* * *

Negaduck cackled madly as he armed every cannon on the air ship.

"Even though I lost the losers, they can just watch me destroy St. Canard from the ground!"

The rest of the Fearsome Five watched in shock and awe as Negaduck aimed the first of the cannons at the highest tower of Audubon Bay Bridge.

"Say bye-bye to your fancy hideout, Dipwing!" Negaduck shouted at no one in particular. He knew the vigilante wasn't in the tower at that moment, but all the better. He could watch as his precious second home got blown into tiny little pieces and thrown into the bay.

"Detonation in three...two..."

"Um, Negaduck!" Megavolt spoke up from inside the suit.

"WHAT?" Screamed the increasingly frightening mallard.

"What's that?" The electric rat pointed toward the bridge's large observation window.

"What's WHAT, you damn knob!" Negaduck spun, angrily, and looked out at whatever had alarmed Megavolt.

"Oh," he muttered, as he saw the Thunderquack on a collision course with them.

* * *

Darkwing, Fenton and Quiverwing were still arguing when the masked mallard felt a tug on his cape. Looking down, he saw Morgana's spider, Archie.

"What is it, Archie?" Darkwing snapped, frustrated. Now the spider wanted to argue with him, too?

Archie began jumping up and down frantically, pointing at where the Thunderquack used to be.

The three heroes turned and saw Morgana lying on the ground, unconscious.

Fenton reached her first, and pulled her into his arms.

"Morgana! Wake up! Say something!"

The witch's eyes began to flutter and finally focused on the accountant.

"Fenton," Morgana muttered, "she took the..."

Darkwing heard the plane before he saw it. It flew low overheard, then circled back around, picking up speed.

It didn't take the crimefighter very long to figure out exactly what had happened.

"Damn her!" He cursed, falling to his knees and punching a first into the ground. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, though, he immediately regretted them.

But he was torn. More torn than he had ever been. On one hand, the completely objective part of his brain knew that this was probably the only way to stop Negaduck. Corrine wasn't stupid, so she knew it, too. But, on the other hand, he loved her. He loved her stubbornness and her attitude and her weird sense of humor. She was carrying his child. And he was very likely about to lose her forever.

And it was Negaduck's fault.

Always Negaduck's fault.

Darkwing felt his jaw clench as he thought about everything his _doppelgänger_ had put him through over the years. His mind wandered to Nega-Gosalyn and the hellhole she lived in. All of the pain and suffering. All of the times Negaduck had very nearly killed him or someone he cared about...and now it came down to this.

Fenton held Morgana tighter as they stared at their friend. Quiverwing had also put two-and-two together and had not taken her eyes off of the Thunderquack and it's dangerous trajectory.

"Dad," Quiverwing said so softly that he wasn't even sure he heard her, "She's not going to...?"

Just as quickly as his emotional episode had begun, it ended. Gosalyn needed him to be strong, and so he would be. He would be anything she needed him to be, always.

Darkwing stood and reached out for his daughter. She deposited herself safely up against his side, arms wrapped around his waist.

"Gos," Darkwing began, still not entirely sure what he was going to say. "Corrine is very brave, and very stubborn. And I know that all she wants in the whole world is to make a safe place for you to live. She wants you to be happy, just like I do. Sometimes, we love someone so much that we're willing to make certain sacrifices for them..."

Morgana interrupted with a gasp. "That's exactly what Corrine said! Before she knocked me out, that is. Dark, the two of you...she loves you both so much. Did you...could you have...had an idea that she was going to do this?"

Darkwing shook his head. "I couldn't have known for sure. But with Launchpad still in the hospital, one of my plans of attack involved using the Thunderquack as a battering ram. A last ditch effort, of course..."

"...And she knew you couldn't fly it. And even if you could, there's no way in the nine hells she would have let you." Morgana smiled softly.

Fenton let out a choked laugh. The kind of laugh with no actual humor behind it.

"She always said she thought she was meant for bigger and better things," he explained. "If I knew she meant some self-sacrifice crap, I would have her put into a padded room years ago."

"No you wouldn't," Darkwing said, very matter-of-factly. "No more than I've ever been able to deny her anything she wants."

They all went silent then, and watched the Thunderquack make its final pass. Then it headed toward the air ship at full speed.

* * *

"_You don't have to do this, you know. You don't have anything to prove."_

Corrine gasped at the voice that came unbidden into her mind. Her brother, Richard.

If she hadn't known he'd been dead for nearly eight years, she would have sworn he was there in the cockpit with her.

"I know I don't," Corrine answered the imaginary voice, absently wondering if she'd finally lost it. "It's not about proving something. It's about saving this entire city, and possibly the world. Everyone I love is here, and I'll be damned if I let them get blown up or enslaved or whatever it is Negaduck wants to do!"

The air ship loomed ahead of her, and every signal and alarm on the Thunderquack was screaming at her to change course.

She held steady.

"_It's not too late!" _The voice was sounding more desperate. _"Turn around and go back to them! You'll find another way!"_

"There is no other way," Corrine replied with very little emotion in her voice. All of her attention was on the air ship.

She sent silent goodbyes to her parents and everyone in Duckburg. Then she conjured up pictures in her mind of Drake, Gosalyn and even Fenton.

Then the Thunderquack crashed at full speed into the glass window encasing the bridge of the air ship.

* * *

The explosion was a sight to behold.

Quiverwing screamed and buried her face into her father's chest.

Silent tears ran down Morgana's face, and it was she who had to help Fenton to his feet. His eyes seemed glued to the carnage above them.

Darkwing's face was twisted in equal amounts of pain and rage. He didn't even blink as the initial explosion set off several smaller explosions inside the air ship, causing debris to rain down upon them. He thought he even recognized parts of the Gizmosuit.

"No one could have survived that," whispered Fenton, who had silently walked over to stand beside the stricken hero.

"No," said Darkwing, his voice full of resolve. "Hopefully not even the Fearsome Five."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

_Had a rough day at work today, so here's another chapter! Hope you enjoyed._


	5. You Left Me Undone

**YOU LEFT ME UNDONE**

"_And for the million hours that we were  
Well, I'll smile and remember it all  
Then I'll turn and go..."_

_- **Champagne High, **Sister Hazel_

* * *

The air ship had plummeted to the ground in pieces. Darkwing had called in the help of SHUSH to evacuate ten whole blocks, but still some pieces of the ship reached beyond that range.

Local firefighters had raced in to extinguish a dozen small fires blazing within the wreckage, and Darkwing found his mind wandering to Corrine's late brother. He had never met the man, but his presence had been such a deep part of Corrine that Darkwing almost felt like he knew him.

Finally, the moment of truth.

"We have some bodies here!" Yelled one of the firefighters. A team raced over and they began digging.

Fenton had escorted Morgana home, citing fatigue. But Darkwing knew that he was torn up about what Corrine had done, and was feeling guilty for losing the Gizmosuit.

But Darkwing had no more time for "what ifs." "What if" Gizmoduck had been at their disposal at the end? "What if" Launchpad had not been laid up in the hospital? "What if" Darkwing had not let Negaduck get his hands on Gosalyn in the first place?

None of it mattered. The only thing that mattered to him was getting Corrine back.

He had wanted to send Gosalyn home, but the teenager would not be swayed. She wanted to stay until the very end.

Some small part of her, admittedly, still had hope.

So he let her stay, despite his better judgment. Part of him wanted to run away with his daughter. Just turn around and head home and not look back. Never again think about the smoking, twisted metal that used to be the Thunderquack.

But he couldn't bear the emptiness. All of Corrine's things would still be at the house, waiting for their owner to return. And he couldn't protect Gosalyn from sadness and pain forever. One could argue that she'd already experienced enough of that in her short life, but if she wanted to follow in his footsteps, she would have to face the darkness of the world even as she desperately tried to cling to the light.

One of the bodies pulled from the wreckage was unrecognizable. But the charred white feathers indicated that it was either Negaduck or Quackerjack. Dental records would likely have to be used to determine which one. SHUSH probably had some such thing on file.

It felt like hours before another one of the firefighters yelled, "I have another body over here!"

Again, a group rushed to assist their teammate. After moving various heaps of metal, they gently removed the less decimated remains of a much smaller duck.

She was surprisingly intact. Darkwing saw her black hair first.

He had always prided himself on keeping his cool in any situation, so he surprised even himself when he began running past the surrounding law enforcement and paramedics, earning shouts of disapproval. He vaguely heard Gosalyn yell after him, but all he could do was focus on that mop of black hair.

He was there in seconds, and no one could stop him from pulling her body from the arms of the firefighter who had lifted her from the wreckage.

In front of police officers, firefighters, members of SHUSH and his own daughter, Darkwing Duck fell to his knees, cradling the body of the woman he loved.

Tears flew freely but silently from his eyes and down his beak. She was broken for good this time. No amount of magic or love could put her back together again.

"Darkwing," came a soft voice behind him. The hero did not look up.

J. Gander Hooter, the head of SHUSH and a personal friend of the vigilante, cleared his throat.

"Darkwing," he tried again, "we assume that this is the young lady who piloted your plane into the airship?"

The stricken mallard nodded once.

"Then she is a hero, my lad. We'd like to get her back to SHUSH Medical to get cleaned up, and then contact her family about funeral arrangements..."

Darkwing remained silent for several more minutes before finally answering, "Fine. But I'm coming with you. I'll take care of everything."

* * *

Gosalyn hadn't had time to mourn Corrine, because her father needed her to be strong. So she went with him back to SHUSH and took it upon herself to answer most of their questions, so that Darkwing wouldn't have to.

The head of SHUSH Medical exited the lab where she had cleaned up Corrine's remains and done an autopsy in adherence to protocol.

"Mr...uh...Darkwing?" the examiner approached the forlorn duck, nervously wringing her hands.

He looked up with dreary eyes but said nothing.

"I've finished preparing your companion. The autopsy was really just for show, since the cause of death is pretty obvious. There was something else, though. I don't know if you're aware, but she was about twelve weeks pregnant."

The crimefighter's face crumpled as he turned away from the doctor.

"Thank you," he muttered in a raspy voice.

"I'm...I'm sorry..." stammered the doctor. Then she turned and quickly walked back into the lab and closed the door.

Once alone, Darkwing slumped further down into his chair and placed his face in his hands.

"Dad?" Came Gosalyn's quiet voice.

The vigilante looked up once again and saw big masked eyes staring at him.

"Yeah, sweetie?" Darkwing responded, sitting up a bit and trying to keep his voice from wavering.

"I...I heard what the doctor said," the teenager admitted. "Was Corrine really going to have a baby?"

Darkwing nodded, solemnly. "I'm sorry, Gos. We were going to tell you after this case was over. I just...I wish I'd had more time. I wish I'd proposed or something, you know? I wish I'd done anything to make her realize that her life was too important to forfeit..."

As her father's voice broke with emotion, Gosalyn ran over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, dad," Gosalyn wept, finally letting herself feel.

Father and daughter stayed like that for a long time; intertwined in their pain, but holding each other steady.

"I feel so stupid," Darkwing began, finally letting his thoughts and emotions tumble out. "To think that someone like me could have a normal family. Not that Corrine was all that normal, but how could I have possibly been able to be someone's husband? I barely deserve to be your father..."

At that, Gosalyn's head shot up and her jaw clenched in anger. "Don't you DARE talk like that! If it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be in the orphanage! Then, as soon as I turned eighteen, they'd have kicked me out into the streets to fend for myself! I wouldn't have known how to protect myself, and I wouldn't have remembered what love was. I'm a better person because of you, dad!"

Darkwing couldn't help but smile a bit at that. Sometimes it felt like it was just him and Gosalyn against the whole world. But as long as they were together, they could never lose.

The hero pulled his daughter tighter, and when he finally released her, he had a new look of determination on his face.

"It's time for me to call Corrine's parents," he said.

* * *

**THREE DAYS LATER...**

Drake hadn't slept in nearly 48 hours, and he lamented that it would be longer still before he got a break.

Negaduck, Quackerjack and Megavolt had been identified as having perished in the air ship explosion. Liquidator and Bushroot, however, were still unaccounted for. Drake wasn't surprised. With Bushroot's regenerative capabilities and Liquidator's lack of having an actual corporeal body, they were likely able to slip away unharmed.

He would worry about that later. Right now, he had other matters to attend to.

It was raining, of course, which set the mood perfectly.

The cemetery was abandoned except for the group gathered to pay their last respects to Corrine QuackIntyre. There was no priest droning on about things that brought comfort to no one; it was just them and a hole in the ground.

The casket was a dark rose pink. That had been Gosalyn's idea, since it had been Corrine's favorite color. It looked darker in the rain, though, and the droplets running down the sides looked a bit like blood.

Drake tried to shake those morbid thoughts from his mind, but it was difficult. It's not like he could forget why he was there. He wore a black suit and held Gosalyn's black-gloved hand. The gloves were supple vintage leather, given to her by Corrine for a Halloween costume. Corrine had always said, "if you're going to do it, don't half-ass it." When the teenager had walked out of her room in a simple black dress paired with the gloves, Drake had smiled.

Launchpad had changed into a dark gray suit, but left his signature flight cap.

J. Gander Hooter was in attendance with a handful of bodyguards. He had insisted to Darkwing that he would be there and, frankly, Drake knew that the director of SHUSH had probably figured out his secret identity long ago. He found a strange sense of comfort in that fact, and in the silent understanding he shared with the old owl. Hooter stood a respectful distance away, but he and Drake made brief eye contact and nodded to each other.

The Muddlefoots were the loudest bunch, sobbing and blowing their noses. All except Honker, of course, who walked over to stand silently next to Gosalyn. He took her other hand. The action was not lost on Drake, and it brought him a surprising sense of comfort.

Fenton stood off to the side with Morgana. His suit was ill-fitting, and he looked incredibly uncomfortable, but he kept an arm tightly around the sorceress' waist. Her own dress looked the same as the red one she usually wore, except black.

Ray and Jean QuackIntyre stood apart from them all. They had never met Morgana, Launchpad, Gosalyn or the Muddlefoots; and they appeared to want to keep it that way. Only Jean had bothered to say a single word to Drake, and had a few warm words for Fenton. But, as expected, Ray was silent. His sorrow and anger were almost tangible, and Drake knew he would probably never be able to face the older duck again.

The only saving grace was that most of Ray's anger had been directed at Darkwing Duck. His harsh words at learning the news regarding his daughter's death had been scathing. He had called the crimefighter every name under the sun, cursed his name and the names of all his ancestors, then finally asked if Corrine's "dipshit boyfriend" knew that she had been involved in such dangerous things.

So Darkwing had done the only thing he could do to protect his already decimated heart, and save a modicum of his secret identity's standing with the QuackIntyres. He had lied.

"No, sir, I vaguely know Mr. Mallard and he had no idea that Corrine was helping me. I was simply in need of a pilot on short notice, and she was willing. I...I had no idea she would do what she did."

"You didn't know very much about anything, did you?" Ray had spat, then closed the video connection.

Drake had dragged himself home, now with the added guilt of having lied. He was already practically a murderer, so what was one more sin?

He talked himself into thinking that Corrine would have understood. Hell, he was probably right. She was understanding about pretty much everything he did.

Finally, he had had enough. With a sigh, Drake Mallard turned and released his daughter's hand.

"I'm going to stay here a bit longer," Gosalyn whispered. Drake nodded and kept walking.

As he exited the cemetery gates, the dreary day seemed to become even darker. Soon, he couldn't even see his car through the sudden fog.

"What in the hell...?" Drake muttered, pausing in what should have been the cemetery parking lot, but he wasn't sure anymore.

"That's pretty accurate, actually," came a familiar voice from behind him.

Whirling around, Drake was faced with someone he had hoped to never see again.

A red creature with a bulbous nose leaned leisurely against a pitchfork. As Drake gaped at him, the creature pulled the fork's prongs from the ground and strolled toward him.

"Hey there, Darkwing. Long time no see. I've just been hanging out, waiting for an opportunity to do business with you again."

"What could you _possibly _want with me now, Beelzebub?" Drake asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, see, that's the thing," said the devil with a grin. "As it turns out, I have recently acquired someone who is just _dying _to see you."

With a snap of his fingers, a small figure suddenly popped into existence.

Drake gasped.

Corrine blinked at him, confusion apparent in her eyes. "Drake? Where are we? What's going on...?" She was cut off by another snap of Beelzebub's fingers. She fell to the ground bound by ropes that had appeared wrapped tightly around her body and beak, gagging her.

Drake clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the urge to run to Corrine.

"It's just an illusion," he mumbled to himself.

Beelzebub laughed. "You don't really believe that. You know I don't dabble in fakes, Duck. Go on and touch her if you don't believe me."

Cautiously, knowing he should just turn and walk away, Drake made his way over to the girl laying prone on the ground.

Big amber eyes stared up at him, fearful.

Kneeling down, the crimefighter reached out and ran a hand through her jet black hair. At his touch, her eyes drifted closed a bit, her fear ebbing just slightly.

She was definitely solid, and she _seemed _real enough. Drake thought back to how the demon had manipulated him before, and realized that it was possible for him to have gotten his hands on Corrine after she had died. Some shady dealings had been involved, no doubt.

Drake stood and turned back to the devil. "Let her go," he demanded, his voice low and stern.

"If the price is right," said Beelzebub with a smile. "I'll let her go to the afterlife she's meant for, if _you _promise to switch places with her. Your only option to keep her from an eternity of pain and torment is to come with me."

Drake had known that would be the deal, yet he hesitated. For some reason, he had been on the devil's hit-list for years. He had made some statements about getting Darkwing Duck off the job so that people could be more free to commit evil deeds, yet it had always seemed more personal than that. Corrine would still be dead, nothing could change that...

...Or could it?

"Hey, Beelzebub, do you people have any rules about the dead having to stay that way? I mean, there are tons of people who have had near-death experiences, right? Not to mention, you're a demon dealing with dead people, so you must have some sort of power. If I go with you, can you restore Corrine's life?"

The devil looked thoughtful for a moment. "That's sort of against the rules..." he began, but was cut off by Drake.

"But when have you ever followed rules?" Drake chided. "Come on, Lucifer, you're not that kind of guy. You do what you want. My one and only demand is my life for hers."

From her place on the ground, Corrine was finally beginning to remember. A plane, an explosion...

Then darkness. A great darkness that reached out into infinity. There was a pinpoint of white light just out of reach, but as she headed toward it she was forcefully jerked away toward fire and pain...

It was him, she finally realized. The devil. Drake was literally making a deal with the devil, all for her.

She began to squirm and make screeching noises in the back of her throat.

"Oh, here we go..." sighed Beelzebub.

"Untie her! Now!" Drake barked, watching in frustration as Corrine flailed.

"Fine, fine," the red creature snapped his fingers again and the girl was free.

"Don't you DARE!" she yelled at Drake, at the same time jumping up and running over to throw her arms around him.

The mallard hugged her tightly, afraid that if he let go she would be gone again.

She pulled back just enough so that they could look each other in the eyes. Amber met blue, and they were soon kissing passionately, as if they would never see each other again. Which, to be fair, was not far from the truth.

"Disgusting," muttered Beelzebub, turning his back on the lovers.

Finally breaking the kiss, Corrine repeated, "Don't you DARE sacrifice yourself for me."

"Oh, you mean the way you did?" Drake snapped with a slight edge to his voice.

Corrine frowned. "I did what I did so that you and Gosalyn could _live_. I mean, _really_ live. Without the continued threat of Negaduck tracking you down, breaking into your house and generally making your lives a living hell. He nearly wiped out St. Canard AGAIN and would have taken you down with him. He would have killed Gosalyn and Fenton, and he nearly did kill Launchpad. All to get to you. So don't you dare discredit what I did by making some hair-brained deal of your own!"

Drake opened his beak to respond, but Corrine laid a gentle finger against it to silence him.

"Besides," she continued, "Gosalyn needs her father. Remember, everything you are now, you owe to her."

Drake said nothing as Corrine pulled her hand away. She watched him for a moment, then she smiled.

"Come on, Lucifer," she said, turning to the demon. "You're not getting him today. Consider me the consolation prize."

The devil narrowed his eyes and tried one last ditch effort.

"You're just going to let her walk away with me, Darkwing? Because this is your last chance. I'm not going to be very nice to your little chickadee if you refuse me."

Drake sighed, threw one last glance over at Corrine, then said, "I never could deny her anything. This is what she wants. Sorry, Beelzebub."

The devil screamed in rage, and in a flash he was gone. With him went Corrine and all the fog and darkness used to mask their encounter.

Drake did not fall to the ground with renewed sorrow. He did not cry out, nor did he rage around the parking lot like a wild animal.

Drake Mallard turned around and walked calmly back to the grave site.

He had a witch to talk to.

**TO BE CONCLUDED IN BOOK III...**


End file.
